A 2-(aryloxymethyl)benzaldehyde compound such as 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzaldehyde is useful, for example, as an intermediate for producing agricultural germicides (for example, see JP 9-95462 A).
As a process for producing a 2-(aryloxymethyl)benzaldehyde compound, for example, in JP 2009-215286 A, a method for obtaining 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzaldehyde by reacting 2,5-dimethylphenol and 2-(chloromethyl)benzal chloride, reacting the resulting 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzal chloride and sodium methoxide to obtain dimethyl acetal, and mixing this dimethyl acetal with an aqueous sulfuric acid solution is described. In addition, in JP 2009-298746 A, a method for obtaining 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzaldehyde by reacting 2,5-dimethylphenol and 2-(chloromethyl)benzal chloride, reacting the resulting 2-(2,5-dimethylphenoxymethyl)benzal chloride and ethylene glycol in the presence of calcium carbonate to obtain cyclic acetal, and mixing this cyclic acetal with concentrated hydrochloric acid is described.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new process for producing a 2-(aryloxymethyl)benzaldehyde compound and the like.